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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27439873">Shadow Knight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookdragon123_4/pseuds/Bookdragon123_4'>Bookdragon123_4</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Watcher of Worlds [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Literally no reason you should read this, OFC - Freeform, author is not good at tagging</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:02:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,067</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27439873</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookdragon123_4/pseuds/Bookdragon123_4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>I was knighted three years after my arrival and rotated assignments around the galaxy for another two after that. Luckily, I was back at the Temple when I heard the Trade Federation had started a blockade on Naboo. I made my way hurriedly to Master Yoda’s quarters.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Watcher of Worlds [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1481648</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>All recognizable characters are the property of LucasFilm. This work is non-beta’d, all mistakes are mine. Feel free to tell me about them in the comments, but be respectful. </p><p> </p><p>Phasing- Density Shifting<br/>Cloaking- Turning Invisible<br/>Flashing- teleporting</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Captain.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, sir?” The young pilot turned his head towards Qui-gon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon’s hood was up, as were the hoods of myself and Obi-wan. “Tell them we wish to board at once.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pilot turned back to his controls and hailed the droid station. A Neimoidian named Nute Gunray appeared on the screen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“With all due respect, the ambassadors for the supreme chancellor wish to board immediately.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The frog-like being nodded along. “Yes, of course. As you know, our blockade is perfectly legal, and we'd be happy to receive the ambassadors.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The channel closed, and I returned to looking out the viewport. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As we started our approach to the station, I contemplated the long path I’d taken to get there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-----------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I’d landed in the middle of a large room. When I looked up, I raised a brow. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Ah, Star Wars.’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>The reason I knew where I was, was that the room I flashed into was the Council chamber of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. There was a meeting in session. Based on who the Masters were, I had arrived a good few years before </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Phantom Menace.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who are you? And why did the Force bring you here?” Mace Windu was the Master who addressed me first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I took a breath and bowed, before standing to my full height. “Greetings, Master Jedi. My name is Jade Watcher. I am an emissary of the Force, sent here to monitor events that are to come.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Claim to know the future, you do?” Master Yoda was looking contemplative. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I dropped my formal airs. “Honestly, yes, I do. I know what is to come. The Force sent me as an emissary and to monitor events. Though, it wishes for me to receive training, so as to be more prepared.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mace Windu caught my eye. “You wish for us to train you in our ways? We do not have proof that you know what you say you know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I nodded. “Respectfully, yes. I will need the skills. And, if any are doubtful, feel the Force. I am telling the truth.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were a few seconds of silence before Master Windu addressed me. “The Force rings true around and through you, but I still have reservations. We do not know who you would study under, and how they would teach you. You are much too old for traditional training.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Master Yoda spoke up again. “Believe you, I do, and training you will have. Under myself, you will study. Feel great potential in you, I do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I bowed to the Grandmaster of the Order. “Thank you, Master Yoda. It would be an honor to study under you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mace Windu didn’t look particularly pleased, but he didn’t speak up again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I stood to the side for the rest of the meeting, then Master Yoda led me to my rooms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He opened the door and led me inside. “Late it is. Leave you to get settled I will. Meet me in the Room of a Thousand Fountains you will, at 0600 hrs.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Master.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yoda left quietly, and I changed into sleepwear and flopped into the bed. I fell asleep quickly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-----------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>My training progressed swiftly. I found that the Force resonated the same as the energy of my powers, so I could use it and feel its currents as well as use my normal powers. Soon, I was building my own lightsabers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I opted for dual sabers, one full blade for my dominant hand, and one shoto blade to go in my off-hand. When I ignited them for the first time, the blades were a deep purple color. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>During my training, I was able to become very close to Master Yoda. I also managed to make friends with several masters and fellow padawans, including Masters Plo Koon, Qui-gon, and Shak-Ti, and Padawans Obi-wan and Bant Erin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I was knighted three years after my arrival and rotated assignments around the galaxy for another two after that. Luckily, I was back at the Temple when I heard the Trade Federation had started a blockade on Naboo. I made my way hurriedly to Master Yoda’s quarters.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I hit the door chime the second it was within reach. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come in, you may.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door opened and I walked in. Yoda was sitting crosslegged on one of his round meditation chairs.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I bowed when I reached him, and the small Grandmaster gestured for me to sit. “Hurried, you are. Tumultuous are your thoughts.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I took a seat and drew my feet up into a locus position. “Apologies, Master. It’s only that my true purpose has arrived. I must be part of the envoy that goes to Naboo.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Near the end of my study under him, I’d started to become someone who’s opinion on the will of the Force Master Yoda trusted. Given that I was there as an emissary of the Force, it was no surprise that the Grandmaster took my words seriously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Know of the envoy, few do.” Yoda nodded sagely. “Sense the importance of your going, I do. Arrange for your addition I will. Prepare, you must.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I rose and bowed again, but before I could get out of reach, Yoda gently grabbed my hand. I turned back to look at my mentor. His face softened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Know of what’s to come, I do not. But, wish you to be careful, I do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I nodded and gave the elder Master a soft smile. “I will.” And with that, I left Yoda’s quarters to prepare for the journey. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-----------------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I was knocked out of my thoughts when our transport landed in the main hanger of the Federation ship. Qui-gon was off first, and he led me and Obi-wan to the door of the hangar bay. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When it opened, we were greeted by a silver protocol droid. “I'm TC-14 at your service. This way, please.” The droid led us to what looked like a conference room. It held a large oval table with chairs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We are greatly honored by your visit, Ambassadors. Make yourselves comfortable.” The protocol droid gestured to the chairs as it backed out the room. “My master will be with you shortly.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We took off our hoods only after the doors were closed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan surveyed the room with a critical eye.  “I have a bad feeling about this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon raised a brow as he walked over to look out the wide viewport. It showed the bright blue and green visage of the lush planet below us. “I don't sense anything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It's not about the mission, Master.” Obi-wan frowned. “It's something elsewhere, elusive.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don't center on your anxieties, Obi-wan.” Qui-gon glanced at his padawan. “Keep your concentration here and now, where it belongs.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan joined his master by the viewport. “But Master Yoda said I should be mindful of the future.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon nodded. “But not at the expense of the moment. Be mindful of the living Force, young Padawan.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Master.” Obi-wan turned and took a seat at the table.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I piped up from across the room.  “And you should listen to your padawan, Qui-gon. There </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> something amiss. I can sense it as well.” I sat down next to Obi-wan. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon nodded, conceding the point, but he didn’t speak. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a few seconds, Obi-wan broke the silence. “How do you think this Trade Viceroy will deal with the chancellor's demands?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon walked over to us. “These Federation types are cowards. The negotiations will be short.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The room lapsed into silence again after the Jedi Master’s statement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is it in their nature to make us wait this long?” Obi-wan asked as the protocol droid entered the room bearing refreshments. We’d been sitting around for over thirty minutes already.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.” Qui-gon shook his head as he took a cup from the offered tray. “I sense</span>
</p><p>
  <span>an unusual amount of fear for something as trivial as this trade dispute.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I nodded along as I also took a cup. I could feel the bundle of fear that was radiating from above us in the ship. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After delivering its drinks, the droid left again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I kept silent, as I was thinking over what exactly I could do and say without upsetting the events unfolding.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was another ten minutes later when all three of us looked up. We exchanged glances. The Force had brought a sense of imminent danger. I heard the hiss of air, and quickly spotted an air vent leaking a green gas.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dioxis.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At Obi-wan’s statement, we all took in a deep breath and held it. The gas was a neurotoxin that could kill in less than a minute if inhaled. (</span>
  <em>
    <span>AN*I know this isn’t true, didn’t feel like researching, don’t blast me.)</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door to the room opened not much later. We were all still alive, though if we’d been normal people, we wouldn’t have been. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A squad of battle droids was right outside. Qui-gon, Obi-wan, and I all ignited our sabers. Mine were my signature purple, Qui-gon’s was green, and Obi-wan’s was blue.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Blast them,” The lead droid called as he saw our sabers through the gas. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I started blocking blaster bolts while Qui-gon and Obi-wan moved forward and cut the droids down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once the squad had been eliminated, Qui-gon led us through the station and to the bridge. The doors were shut and the controls weren’t working. Qui-gon and Obi-wan started to cut through the doors with their sabers, as I held off the battle droids that had arrived.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the pair were about a quarter of the way through, I heard a thunk come from behind the doors. The blast doors had been engaged, forcing the Master/Padawan duo to start over. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They got halfway through before the next interruption came, in the form of droidekas. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Qui-gon! Destroyers!” I called over my shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two men stopped cutting into the doors and turned around to help me fend off the increased blaster shots. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They have shield generators,” Obi-wan observed after a few seconds of bouncing bolts off said shields.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It's a standoff. Let's go.” Qui-gon deflected one last bolt, before moving quickly down the hall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He led us to a ventilation shaft, through which the three of us made our way to the hangar where our ship was. It had been destroyed, so we moved on to another hanger, hoping to find a transport ship.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We didn’t quite find what we were looking for. Instead, we found a hangar full of something a lot less useful.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Battle droids.” Obi-wan peeked out from behind the crates we were crouched behind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It's an invasion army.” Qui-gon was scanning the hangar of ships loading battle droids. “This is an odd play for the Trade Federation. We've got to warn the Naboo and contact Chancellor Valorum.” He turned to me and Obi-wan. “Let's split up. Jade, you and Obi-wan stow aboard a ship. I’ll get on another one. We’ll meet down on the planet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan and I nodded, but before Qui-gon could move, Obi-wan’s voice stopped him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You were right about one thing, Master. The negotiations </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> short.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I snorted quietly at Obi-wan’s sass as we headed into a droid transport. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry about not posting: Life has been happening</p><p>All recognizable characters are the property of LucasFilm. This work is non-beta’d, all mistakes are mine. Feel free to tell me about them in the comments, but be respectful. </p><p> </p><p>Phasing- Density Shifting<br/>Cloaking- Turning Invisible<br/>Flashing- teleporting</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Once the transport Obi-wan and I were on landed, we quietly snuck off and started out to reunite with Qui-gon. Obi-wan led the way, as his bond with his master allowed him to know the general direction of where Qui-gon was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We had almost reached the master’s position when two battle droids on STAP’s. (Single Trooper Aerial Platforms) started firing at us. Obi-wan and I deflected blasts as we ran. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon caught sight of us first and destroyed the STAP’s. We skidded to a halt besides to the elder Jedi. There was an amphibious being next to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Oh, joy. Jar-Jar.’</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Apparently, Obi-wan was having similar thoughts, asking Qui-gon, “What's this?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A local,” Qui-gon replied, scanning the surrounding forest. “Let's get out of here before more droids show up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar whipped his head around. “More? More did you spake?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon, Obi-wan, and I started to jog through the forest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar followed behind. “Ex-squeeze-me, but de mostest safest place would be Gungan City. Is where I grew up. 'Tis a hidden city.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That bit of information halted the men, and I stopped as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A city?” Qui-gon repeated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh-huh.” Jar-Jar nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can you take us there?” Qui-gon pressed. We needed a safe way to get to Theed, the capital city of Naboo. It would take way too long to go on foot, and there were no places near by that had vehicles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The lanky being thought for a second before changing his mind. “On second thought, no. Not really, no.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“- No?” Qui-gon’s hands went to his hips. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar rubbed the back of his neck. “'Tis embarrassing...but my afraid, my've been banished. My forgotten. Da bosses would do terrible tings to me. Terrible tings to me, if me goen back dare.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You hear that?” Qui-gon pointed towards the faint sound of the droid carriers moving through the woods. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yah.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That is the sound of a thousand terrible things heading this way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar started to shake slightly at Qui-gon’s words.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan caught on to the ploy and added, “If they find us, they will crush us, grind us into tiny pieces, and blast us into oblivion.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That got the Gungan to change his mind. “Oh. Yousa point is well seen.” He started to walk away, calling over his shoulder, “Dis way. Hurry!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After about twenty minutes of walking, Obi-wan started to get impatient. “How much further,” He asked of our guide.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just then, our group came to the edge of a large lake. Jar-Jar pointed under the surface. “Wesa goen underwater, okeyday?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The men and I exchanged glances as Jar-Jar jumped into the water. We followed the being, pulling out our rebreathers as we submerged. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Jar-Jar was very fast underwater, I used the Force to propel Qui-gon and Obi-wan to keep up with the Gungan. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We swam deeper and deeper, and when we swam over the edge of an underwater cliff, my eyes widened. The Gungan city was made of dozens of translucent spheres that seemed to be composed of a jelly-like material. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar led us to a “landing pad’ type structure on the outside of one of the spheres, then through the jelly into the air of the city. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>My fellow Jedi and I put away our rebreathers when we set down in the ‘building.’ There were Gungans everywhere, some riding animals, others walking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar started moving, talking over his shoulder. “Yousa follow me now, okeyday? So good bein home! Ah, my warning you. Gungans no liken outsiders, so don't spect a warm welcome.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don't worry. This hasn't been our day for warm welcomes.” Qui-gon threw back as we trailed the amphibious being. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Our group was barely ten yards into the underwater sphere when a Gungan guard rode up on one of the native animals. He pointed his spear at Jar-Jar. “Hey, yousa. Stopa dare.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar stopped and gave the other Gungan a tentative wave. “Heyo-dales, Cap'n Tarpals. Mesa back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Captain shook his head. “Noah gain, Jar Jar. Yousa goen tada bosses. Yousa in big dudu dis time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Several other guards surrounded our group, and one even shocked Jar-Jar slightly with the tip of his spear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How wude.” Jar-Jar rubbed at his arm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We were escorted through the spheres to what appeared to be the council chamber of the leaders of Gungan City.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were sitting on a raised platform in a half-circle. The Gungan that was in the center of the line wore an ornate hat, marking him as the leader. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He did not look pleased to see us. “Yousa cannot bees hair. Dis army of Mackineeks up dare is you weesaw.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon spoke for the three of us, as he had seniority. “A droid army is about to attack the Naboo. We must warn them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was apparently the wrong thing to say. Boss Nass frowned even more. “Wesa no like da Naboo. Da Naboo tink day so smarty. Day tink day brains so big.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon tried to reason some more. “Once those droids take control of the surface, they will take control of you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I wasn’t the best at reading Gungan expressions, but I was certain the Boss raised a brow. “Mesa no tink so. Day not know of uss-en.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan gave negotiating a try. “You and the Naboo form a symbiont circle. What happens to one of you will affect the other. You must understand this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wesa no carrrre-nn about da Naboo,” Boss Nass repeated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then speed us on our way,” Qui-gon tried while using a subtle mind trick. We were too pressed for time to continue trying with negotiations. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The trick worked and Boss Nass responded, “Wesa ganna speed yous away.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We could use a transport,” Qui-gon tacked on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wesa give yousa una bongo. Da speediest way tooda Naboo, 'tis goen through the planet core. Now…” The Boss pointed out the door. “Go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three of us bowed. “Thank you for your help,” Qui-gon said in parting. “We leave in peace.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Master, what's a bongo?” Obi-wan whispered when we had turned away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A transport, I hope.” The master replied. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I added my own knowledge to the discussion. “It is. It’s basically an underwater speeder. It’s on the faster side.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Deysa setten yousa up.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon stopped at Jar-Jar’s words. The Gungan had been standing in the back of the room, cuffed and guarded. “Goen through da planet core? Bad bombin'.” He gestured to his cuffs. “Any help here would be hot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan knewQui-gon well. “Master, we're short on time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We'll need a navigator to get us through the planet's core.” Qui-gon pointed out to his apprentice. “This Gungan may be of help.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He turned back to face the council again. “What is to become of Jar Jar Binks here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hisen to be pune-ished,” Boss Nass replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I saved his life. He owes me what you call a "life-debt."  Qui-gon pulled the trump card. “Your gods demand that his life belongs to me now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Gungan leader paused, then turned his gaze to Jar-Jar. “Binks...yousa havena lifeplay with thisen hisen?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boss Nass frowned, but waved his hands. “Begone wit him!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar was released from his binders, but he started to back away. “Count me outta dis one. Better dead here than dead in da core.” Then, he smacked himself in the head, “Yee gods! What mesa sayin?” And started to follow us.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Our group was swiftly led to the Gungans’ hangar and given a bongo. The vessel was shaped vaguely like a manta ray. Luckily, the controls were similar enough to a speeder that Obi-wan could pilot it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once we were in the water, there was quiet in the transport, for the most part.  Jar-Jar was muttering to himself next to me in the back seat. “Dis is nutsen… Oh, gooberfsh!...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan broke the Gungan’s train of thought with a question. “Why were you banished, Jar Jar?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar didn’t meet the Padawan’s eyes. “It's a longo tale-o… buta a small part of it would be mesa... clumsy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You were banished for being clumsy?” Obi-wan didn’t understand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yousa might'n be sayin dat.” Jar-Jar shrugged. “Mesa caused mabee one two-y lettle bitty axadentes, huh? Yud-say boom da gasser…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I tuned out the conversation as I felt a presence in the water behind the ship. I turned around to the view of a huge Opee Sea Killer. “Uhh, guys…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon and Obi-wan turned around at my words. Jar-Jar did as well, and panicked. “Big gooberfsh! Huge-o teeth!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan simply pressed the accelerator harder, but it didn’t help. The sea monster shot out its extendable tongue and drew the Bongo into its mouth. It swam away with us, but before it could actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>eat</span>
  </em>
  <span> us, another bigger monster ate the Opee. It was a Sando Aqua monster. We were released from the Opee’s grip as it thrashed in the Aqua’s jaws.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon turned back to face the front as Obi-wan swiftly piloted away. “There's always a bigger fish.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar poked his head between the front seats. “Mesa tink we goen back now.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan ignored the native and piloted down a tunnel through the planet’s core. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where wesa goin?” Jar-Jar looked around through the roof-shield. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon turned to look at the Gungan. “Don't worry. The Force will guide us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I swear Jar-Jar rolled his eyes. “Oh, maxi big, da Force. Well, dat smells stinkowiff.” Regardless of Jar-Jar’s views on the Force, our attention turned to a bigger problem. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We're losing power,” Obi-wan informed us, even though we could all tell the bongo was slowing down. It soon came to a full halt and rested on the seafloor. Obi-wan got right on hot-wiring the Bongo.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar wasn’t nearly as calm. “Oh, no! Wesa dyin' here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just relax. We're not in trouble yet.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon’s words did nothing to calm the Gungan. If anything, it made it worse. Jar-Jar started to yell. “What "yet"?! Monsters out dare! All sink'n and no power! Whena yousa tinkin wesa in trouble?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon didn’t get time to answer as Obi-wan managed to get our transport working again. “Power's back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The headlights on the Bongo kicked on again, just in time to illuminate a large Colo Clawfish.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Monster's back!” Jar-Jar yelled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Relax,” Obi-wan replied as he deftly maneuvered the sub around the large sea-dweller. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It didn’t help, so Qui-gon reached back and sent a calming wave of the Force through Jar-Jar. It made the Gungan fall into sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan glanced back. “You overdid it.” He was still trying to get us away from the Clawfish, which was following us. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon didn’t reply, pointing out the front viewport to another underwater tunnel. “Head for that outcropping.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan did as instructed but, on the other side of the tunnel, the Sando Aqua monster had returned. “Oh, boy.” The Padawan had to pull hard on the controls to get us above the jaws of the beast.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luckily, the Aqua Monster was more interested in the Colo Clawfish than us. We made it past the Aqua monster in one piece.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After that last aquatic encounter, we managed to have a relatively calm ride to the surface. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>We breached the surface of a lake in the middle of Theed. Our group got out of the Bongo, and made our way quietly into the city. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Battle droids were everywhere, and we almost had to fight a couple of times thanks to our clumsy tag-along. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-----------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon led us through the city, and we soon found the Queen. She and her entourage were being escorted by a squad of droids. We were on a covered bridge above the street, so we waited for the group to pass under us, then jumped down and engaged the droids. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I immediately went to the Queen and stood in front of her as protection. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Get their weapons.” The guards that were with her took up the blasters of the fallen droids and rallied around the Queen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once the droids were taken care of, Qui-gon, Obi-wan, and I addressed the Queen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We should leave the street, Your Highness.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yousa guys bombad!” It was the first time Jar-Jar had seen us really fight. Qui-gon ignored him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We're ambassadors for the supreme chancellor.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Queen didn’t seem impressed. “Your negotiations seemed to have failed, Ambassador.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon gently corrected her. “The negotiations never took place. It's urgent that we make contact with the Republic.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One of the Queen’s advisors spoke up. “They've knocked out all our communications.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon considered that for a second. “Do you have transports?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“In the main hangar.” The captain of the guard motioned down the street. “This way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took less than ten minutes of going through back alleys to get to the main hangar of the palace. When we peeked in, there were several squads of droids milling around. One was watching over a small group of pilots. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There are too many of them.” Captain Typo frowned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That won't be a problem,” Qui-gon assured. He turned to the Queen. “Your Highness, under the circumstances, I suggest you come to Coruscant with us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Ambassador, but my place is with my people.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They will kill you if you stay.” Qui-gon pressed. It was vital that the Queen get off-planet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They wouldn't dare.” The advisor, Sio Bibble, stated. “They need her to sign a treaty to make this invasion legal. They can't afford to kill her.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon shook his head. “There is something else behind all this, Your Highness. There's no logic in the Federation's move here. My feelings tell me they will destroy you. Our only hope is for the Senate to side with us. Senator Palpatine will need your help.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Queen wavered. “Either choice presents great danger…” She looked to her handmaidens. “To us all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One of the handmaidens stepped forward. “We are brave, Your Highness.” I also noticed that the handmaiden gave the queen minute hand and facial signals, unnoticeable to any who didn’t have the Force. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you are to leave, Your Highness, it must be now.” Qui-gon could tell the Queen was going to leave.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She said as much a second later. “Then I will plead our case to the senate.” Queen Amidala turned to her advisors who would be staying. “Be careful, Governor.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that, Qui-gon, Obi-wan, and I strode into the hangar, the Queen and her retinue behind us. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We'll need to free those pilots.” Captain Panaka pointed to a group of men being guarded by droids.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'll deal with that.” Obi-wan broke off from the group, pulling out his lightsaber. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon and I kept moving towards the Queen’s transport. About three-quarters of the way across the hangar, we were stopped by a squad of droids. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Halt.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon tried to talk his way out. “I'm an ambassador to the supreme chancellor. We're taking these people to Coruscant.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where are you taking them?” The droid wasn’t very smart.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“To Coruscant,” Quo-gon repeated. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Coruscant? Uh, that doesn't compute. Uh, wait.” The droid put a hand to where its comm was. “Uh, you're under arrest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that, Qui-gon ignited his saber and cut the droid down. I ignited my own pair as the rest of the droids opened fire. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on.” I ushered the Queen and her party onto the Nubian ship. Qui-gon and I stood guard at the end of the boarding ramp while they hurried on. “Move! Go!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan finished freeing the pilots in good time. They boarded swiftly and got the ship running. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon and I boarded right before the ship took off. Obi-wan led Jar-Jar away to keep him out of trouble. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The elder Jedi and I went up to the cockpit to monitor our escape. Even though we had left the planet’s surface, we weren’t out of the woods yet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There's the blockade.” The main pilot nodded out the viewport. We all looked at the broad ring of Federation ships orbiting the planet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As soon as our ship got in range, the droid command ships opened fire. Our shields held, but barely, and a few shots got through.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The shield generator's been hit!” The pilot hit the control to deploy the astromech droids to try and repair the ship before the shields failed entirely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I watched the screen showing the droids on the outside of the ship. In less than a minute, two out of the four droids had been blown off the ship. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We're losing droids fast,” The pilot reported. “If we can't get the shield generator</span>
</p><p>
  <span>fixed, we'll be sitting ducks.” After a few seconds, “The shields are gone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was only one droid left, but he managed to finish his job.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The power's back! That little droid did it. He bypassed the main power drive. Deflector shields up at maximum.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With our shields back up, we got past the blockade and blasted past it into the expanse of space. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-----------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ship was barely out of the system before the bad news hit again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There's not enough power to get us to Coruscant. The hyperdrive is leaking. We'll have to land somewhere to refuel and repair the ship,” Another one of the pilots reported. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here, Master.” Obi-wan had rejoined Qui-gon and me in the cockpit. He pointed to a picture of a planet. “Tatooine. It's small, out of the way, poor. The Trade Federation has no presence there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How can you be sure?” Captain Panaka questioned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It's controlled by the Hutts,” Qui-gon told him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can't take Her Royal Highness there.” The captain was adamant. “The Hutts are gangsters. If they discovered her, it'd be no different than landing on a system controlled by the Federation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Except that the Hutts aren't looking for her, which gives us the advantage.” I pointed out. The captain frowned but let the matter drop.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------------------</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I entered the Queen’s receiving chamber after putting away our few possessions. Captain Panaka was giving his report to the Queen. “...An extremely well-put-together little droid, Your Highness. Without a doubt, it saved the ship, as well as our lives.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I silently walked over and stood beside Qui-gon and Obi-wan.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The queen looked over the blue astromech droid. “It is to be commended. What is its number?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“R2-D2, Your Highness,” The captain read.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, R2-D2.” She turned to one of her handmaidens. “Padme. Clean this droid up as best you can. It deserves our gratitude.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Padme nodded and led the droid out of the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Continue, Captain.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Captain stepped back and let Qui-gon take the floor. “Your Highness, with your permission, we're heading for a remote planet called Tatooine. It's in a system far beyond the reach of the Trade Federation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do not agree with the Jedi on this.” Captain Panaka put in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You must trust my judgment, Your Highness.” Qui-gon caught the young queen’s eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She nodded her assent.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“That's it.” Qui-gon pointed out the viewport to the dusty orange planet in front of the ship. “Tatooine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There's a settlement. Land near the outskirts. We don't want to attract attention.” He directed the pilot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-----------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon and I made our way to the back of the ship after changing into appropriate clothes. Each of us was wearing a poncho type cover, so as to conceal our sabers. We had determined that Obi-wan would stay with the ship, while we went to look for parts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Obi-wan looked up from the hyperdrive.  “The hyperdrive generator's gone, Master. We'll need a new one.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon frowned. “That'll complicate things. Be wary,” He warned both of us. “I sense a disturbance in the Force.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I feel it also, Master.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don't let them send any transmissions,” Qui-gon directed his apprentice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan nodded, before getting back to work. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The sun doen murder to mesa skin.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I rolled my eyes at Jar-Jar’s complaining, though I had to agree with him. The twin suns were beating down on the sands. Qui-gon had decided to bring him along, to keep an eye on the clumsy creature. R2, the astromech droid, was wheeling along beside me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The four of us stopped at Captain Panaka’s call. We waited as he and a handmaiden caught up to us. “Wait. Her Highness commands you to take her handmaiden with you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No more commands from Her Highness today, Captain.” Qui-gon raised a brow. “The spaceport is not going to be pleasant.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The queen</span>
  <em>
    <span> wishes</span>
  </em>
  <span> it,” The captain restated. “She's curious about the planet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I subtly shook my head at the elder Jedi, telling him it wasn’t worth the battle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is not a good idea,” Qui-gon relented and started walking again. “Stay close to Jade,” He ordered Padme, the handmaiden picked to join us. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Our enlarged group slowly made our way into town. Qui-gon explained things to Padme, the handmaiden we’d taken with us. “Moisture farms, for the most part. Some indigenous tribes and scavengers. The few spaceports, like this one, are havens for those</span>
</p><p>
  <span>that don't wish to be found.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Like us,” Padme added.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon didn’t reply, looking around the buildings for a parts shop.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Jar-Jar was talkative though. “Dissen berry, berry bad…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I tuned him out as Qui-gon spotted a shop. “We'll try one of the smaller dealers.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He headed inside and we followed. There was a Toydarian flying around the shop.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good day to you.” Qui-gon greeted the shopkeeper.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you want?” The being’s voice was harsh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It didn’t phase the Jedi Master. Qui-gon pulled out a holo-recorder and turned it on. It projected a holo of our ship. “I need parts for a J-type 327 Nubian.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Toydarian lit up. “Ah, yes! Nubian. We have lots of that.” He turned towards the entrance to the back yard. “Boy, get in here now!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My droid has a readout of what I need.” Qui-gon and Artoo moved off towards the back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A young boy darted in and hopped onto the counter. He and the Toydarian exchanged a few words before the flying being and Qui-gon left the building for the scrapyard. “So, let me take thee out back, huh? We'll find what you need…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don't touch anything,” Qui-gon threw to Jar-Jar. The Gungan stuck his tongue out at the Jedi Master. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Padme and Jar-Jar were looking around the shop for a while. I faded into a corner and kept my eye on the entrance, to make sure no one unsavory came in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you an angel?” The little boy, Anakin, broke the quiet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Padme turned from examining a droid. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“An angel,” Anakin repeated. “I heard the deep space pilots talk about them. They're the most beautiful creatures in the universe. They live on the moons of Lego, I think.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I sent a knowing look at the young boy. It was obvious that he already held the handmaiden in high esteem. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, obvious to everyone but Padme. She simply smiled at the boy. “You're a funny little boy. How do you know so much?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin shrugged. “I listen to all the traders and star pilots who come through here. I'm a pilot, you know, and someday I'm gonna fly away from this place.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You're a pilot?” Padme sounded shocked that such a young child flew.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mm-hmm. All my life.” It was clear Anakin was proud of his achievement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How long have you been here?” Padme asked innocently.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin lost some of his enthusiasm. “Since I was very little. Three, I think. My mom and I were sold to Gardulla the Hutt, but she lost us betting on the Podraces.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You're a slave?” Padme asked. I could understand her surprise, as the Republic had outlawed slavery in its systems. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin got slightly offended, however. “I'm a </span>
  <em>
    <span>person</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and my name is Anakin.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Padme backtracked. “I'm sorry. I don't fully understand. This is a strange place to me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two children, that’s what I counted Padme as given she was fourteen, locked eyes and shared a moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was shattered when Jar-Jar accidentally activated a pit droid, which proceeded to knock things around in the store. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We all tried to catch it but were unsuccessful because I couldn’t use the Force without giving us away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar managed to get the closest, and Anakin yelled directions. “Hit the nose.” The Gungan did as told and the pit droid folded back up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Our small group then proceeded to put the shop back to rights. We finished quickly and Anakin started to regale Padme about his piloting exploits.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Wouldn't have lasted long anyway if I wasn't so good at building things.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon soon came back and, judging by his emotions in the Force, the bartering didn’t go well. “We're leaving.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I got up from my seat and rejoined Padme at the counter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jar-Jar.” I scolded the Gungan, who was messing with another droid. He stopped at my call. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Padme said goodbye to Anakin. “ I'm glad to have met you, Anakin.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was glad to meet you too.” Anakin beamed up at the handmaiden as I ushered her out the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>----------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you're sure there's nothing left on board?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A few containers of supplies. The queen's wardrobe, maybe, but not enough for you to barter with, not in the amount you're talking about.” Obi-wan reported.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Our party was in a small alley communicating with the ship. Qui-gon had been asking after funds. The Toydarian wouldn’t take republic credits. He sighed. “All right. I'm sure another solution will present itself. I'll check back later.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We left the alcove and started to head back to the ship. Jar-Jar was trailing again and muttering. “Noah gain. Noah gain. Da beings hereabouts, cawazy! Wesa be wobbed un crunched.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I shook my head. “Not likely. We have nothing of value. That's our problem.” I continued to scan the crowd, always on the lookout for hostiles. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>I was so absorbed in my scrutiny of beings passing us, that Qui-gon, Obi-Wan, Padme, and I were several yards away when we noticed that Jar-Jar wasn’t with us. I turned around and spotted the being on the ground next to Anakin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We made our way back to the Gungan.  Anakin craned his neck to look up at the tall Jedi. “Hi.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hi there,” Qui-gon replied. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your buddy here was about to be turned into orange goo,” Anakin explained. “He picked a fight with a Dug, an especially dangerous Dug called Sebulba.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I glanced over to where Anakin had gestured to see said Dug glaring at Jar-Jar from his seat at a food stall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mesa haten crunchen.” Jar-Jar protested. “Das da las ting mesa want.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nevertheless, the boy is right,” Qui-gon observed. “You were heading into trouble.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thank you, my young friend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But mesa doen nutten!” Jar-Jar repeated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon ignored him as Anakin grabbed his hand and pulled him towards a stall. Padme and I followed the pair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The stall was run by an old lady, who was selling small sweetcakes and desert fruits. It was clear she knew Anakin as he bought a few of the fruits and handed them to Qui-gon. “Here, you'll like these pallies.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” Qui-gon accepted the fruits and handed one each to Padme and me. He put his own in one of the side pockets of his belt. I did the same, brushing my poncho out of the way for a second. I noticed Anakin got a glimpse of our lightsaber hilts, though I didn’t comment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The lady started to pack up her stall. “My bones are aching. Storm's coming up, Ani. You better get home quick.” Even as we’d been talking, the winds had picked up, throwing sand everywhere. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin nodded, then turned to Qui-gon. “Do you have shelter?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We'll head back to our ship.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is it far?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It's on the outskirts.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin shook his head. “You'll never reach the outskirts in time. Sandstorms are very, very dangerous.” He started to head towards a set of squat living quarters. “Come on. I'll take you to my place.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon hesitated. I spoke up quietly. “There is something special about the boy. I know you feel it too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The elder Jedi nodded, and we made our way to Anakin, who had paused when we hadn’t followed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin’s home was close by, and we made it right before the storm hit. He burst through the door yelling, “Mom! Mom, I'm home!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, dissen cosy.” Jar-Jar commented. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The home was made of adobe and was on the smaller side. Then again, they were slave quarters. All the furniture was rundown but looked well kept. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A lady came in from what looked like the kitchen. Anakin hugged her. “These are my friends, Mom.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello. I'm Qui-Gon Jinn, and this is Jade Watcher.” I smiled at the woman. Qui-gon handed her some food packets, as it was close to the midday meal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin pulled Padme into a back room. “I'm building a droid. You wanna see…?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar and Artoo went with them, while I stayed with Qui-gon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your son was kind enough to offer us shelter.” Qui-gon made small talk with Anakin’s mother. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It sounds like bait to establish a connection trace,” Qui-gon advised. Obi-wan had just informed us of a transmission from Naboo, telling of the peoples’ suffering.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What if it is true, and the people are dying?” Obi-wan was concerned, as were we.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Either way,” Qui-gon sighed, “We're running out of time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“...All slaves have a transmitter placed inside their bodies somewhere. I've been working on a scanner to try and locate mine.” </span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Our ragtag group was eating mid-meal, and Anakin was talking loudly with Padme across the table.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Any attempt to escape…” Shmi, Anakin’s mother explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And they blow you up!” Anakin interrupted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How wude!” Jar-Jar took a drink from his cup.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Padme shook her head. “I can't believe there's still slavery in the galaxy. The Republic's anti-slavery laws…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Republic doesn't exist out here,” Shmi gently corrected. “We must survive on our own.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The conversation was interrupted as Jar-Jar used his extendable tongue to snatch a small fruit from the bowl on the table. The appendage was extremely fast and made a loud snapping sound. Everyone turned to look. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Xcuse me.” Jar-Jar flushed and lowered his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A pause, then Anakin started talking again. “Has anybody ever seen a Podrace?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve never been to a race, but I’ve heard of them.” I chimed in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon nodded. “They have Podracing on Malastare. Very fast, </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> dangerous.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin puffed his chest out. “I'm the only human who can do it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You must have Jedi reflexes if you race pods,” Qui-gon commented. Anakin didn’t have time to respond as Jar-Jar went to snatch another fruit, and Qui-gon shot out a hand and caught the appendage. He frowned at the Gungan. “Don't do that again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar apologized, and Qui-gon let go of his tongue.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin was looking back and forth between me and Qui-gon. “You guys are Jedi Knights, aren't you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What makes you think that?” Qui-gon replied innocently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I discreetly rolled my eyes at Qui-gon’s games.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I saw your laser swords.” Anakin pointed to where they were hidden under our cloaks. “Only Jedi carry that kind of weapon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps we killed some Jedi and took them from them,” The Jedi Master posed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin shook his head. “I don't think so. No one can kill a Jedi.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon gave the young boy a wistful smile. “I wish that were so.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I winced, remembering Jedi that had been lost, including Qui-gon’s former love.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I had a dream I was a Jedi.” Anakin pulled me back into the conversation. “I came back here and freed all the slaves. Have you come to free us?” He looked at Qui-gon with eyes full of hope.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I'm afraid not.” Qui-gon shook his head. I could feel the lie echoing in the Force, and I wondered if Qui-gon was testing if Anakin could too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It seemed he could as Anakin wasn’t buying it. He narrowed his eyes. “I think you have. Why else would you be here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The elder Jedi smiled and relaxed a little. His test had worked. “I can see there's no fooling you, Anakin. We're on our way to Coruscant, the central system in the Republic,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>on a very important mission.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How did you end up out here in the outer rim?” Anakin questioned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Our ship was damaged,” Padme explained. “And we're stranded here until we can repair it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The young boy perked up. “I can help. I can fix anything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I believe you can.” Qui-gon smiled softly. “But first we must acquire the parts we need.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wit no-nutten mula to trade,” Jar-Jar added.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Padme thought out loud. “These junk dealers must have a weakness of some kind.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gambling,” Shmi offered. “Everything here revolves around betting on those awful races.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Podracing.” Qui-gon took a bite of his food. “Greed can be a powerful ally.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I built a racer.” Anakin boasted. “It's the fastest ever. There's a big race tomorrow on Boonta Eve. You could enter my pod.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shmi frowned. “Anakin, Watto won't let you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Watto doesn't know I've built it,” Anakin argued quietly. “You could make him think it was yours, and get him to let me pilot it for you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shmi sighed and her brow furrowed. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> don't want you to race. It's awful. I die every time Watto makes you do it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But, Mom, I love it,” Anakin pleaded. “And the prize money would more than pay for the parts they need.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anakin.” The boy turned to Qui-gon. “Your mother's right.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is there anyone friendly to the Republic who can help us?” Padme asked Shmi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.” Shmi shook her head and fell silent. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin tried again. “Mom, you say the biggest problem in this universe is nobody helps each other.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'm sure Qui-Gon and Jade don't want to put your son in danger.” Padme tried to mediate. “We'll find some other way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shmi thought for a minute, then shook her head again. “There is no other way. I may not like it, but he can help you.” She smiled at her son. “He was meant to help you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure about this? Trusting our fate to a boy we hardly know?” Padme objected outside of Watto’s shop. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sandstorm had blown over, and Qui-gon, Padme, and I were going to give our proposition to Watto about using Anakin in the race. Anakin had tagged along.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The queen will not approve.” Padme took a seat on the bench outside the shop. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The queen doesn't need to know.” Qui-gon threw over his shoulder as he entered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Padme muttered under her breath, but I heard it. “Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> don't approve.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘And that’s basically the same thing.’ </span>
  </em>
  <span> I smirked and watched Qui-gon’s retreated back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even though I had to stay outside the shop to guard Padme, thanks to my enhanced hearing, I could hear the conversation going on inside. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The boy tells me you want to sponsor him in the race. How can you do this? Not on the Republic credits, I think.” Watto sounded smug.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My ship will be the entry fee.” Qui-gon was as calm as ever.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not bad!” I assumed that Watto was looking over the ship specs. “Not bad, huh? Nubian, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It's in good order, except for the parts I need.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What would the boy ride,” Watto questioned. “He smashed up my pod in the last race. It would take some long time to fix it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It wasn't my fault.” Anakin chimed in. “Really. Sebulba flashed me with his vents. I actually saved the pod, mostly.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That you did.” Watto actually sounded pleased. “The boy's good. No doubts there, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have acquired a pod in a game of chance,” Qui-gon answered the original question. “The fastest ever built.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hope you didn't kill anyone I know for it, huh,” Watto joked. “So, you supply the pod and the entry fee, and I supply the boy. We split the winnings fifty-fifty, I think, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If it's going to be fifty-fifty, I suggest you front the cash for the entry,” Qui-gon bargained. “If we win, you keep all the winnings, minus the cost of the parts I need. And if we lose, you keep my ship. Either way, you win.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Deal!” Watto sounded pleased. Qui-gon was as well when he exited the shop. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I heard Watto address Anakin in Huttese before Anakin came out and joined us for the walk back to his place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow, a real Astro droid!” One of Anakin’s friends, Kitster, pointed at Artoo. “How do you get so lucky?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin, some of his friends, C-3PO, Artoo, Padme, Jar-Jar, and I were all gathered around the podracer Anakin had built. I was helping the boy with the final touches to the machinery. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That isn't the half of it,” Anakin boasted as he moved around the pod. “I'm in the Boonta race tomorrow.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” A young Rodian boy asked. “With this? You're such a joker, Ani. You've been working on that for years. It's never gonna run.” He gestured to some of the other kids. “Come on. Let's go and play ball. Keep racing, Ani. You're gonna be bug squash.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin brushed off the child’s words and went back to work. “Keep away from those energy binders,” He warned Jar-Jar, who was messing with something near the energy couplers. “If your hand gets caught in the beam, it's gonna go numb for hours.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Jar-Jar replied, and then proceeded to shock his tongue. “My ‘ongue is fat. My ‘ongue…”  I rolled my eyes from where I was working on the power intake.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wrench. Where is de wrench? Oh, dare it is. I'm stuck.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I popped my head out from under one of the engines again, then sighed and stood up. Jar-Jar had managed to get his hand stuck in the turbine. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, I find that Jar Jar creature to be a little odd.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I snorted when I heard Threepio’s comment, but kept my focus on Jar-Jar’s hand. It took a little manipulating, but eventually, the appendage came out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hank, ou.” Jar-Jar walked off after his hand was free, away from the pod. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finished with that, I walked over to the chariot part Anakin was getting into it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don't even know if this thing's gonna run,” Kitster commented as his friend got in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It will.” Anakin settled into his seat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think it's time we found out.” Qui-gon came up to us with a part and handed it to Anakin. “Here, use this power charge.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, sir!” Anakin took the part, grinning. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Kitster.” Qui-gon and I led the young boy out of the exhaust path. “Let's move away.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin plugged in the power charge and flicked some switches. The engines coughed and sputtered for a few seconds before roaring to life. The whole pod lifted off the ground a few feet and hovered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It's working,” Anakin yelled over the noise. “It's working!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I smiled at the pure joy Anakin was projecting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-----------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stay still, Ani. Let me clean this cut.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I handed Qui-gon a sterile bactapad. Anakin had scraped up his arm when he tripped getting out of the pod. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin looked up at the sky. It had gotten fairly late in the evening, so the stars were out. With none of the light pollution of Coroscaunt, many more stars could be seen from the ground.  “There's so many. Do they all have a system of planets?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Most of them.” Qui-gon gently cleaned the scrape.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Has anyone been to 'em all?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not likely.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wanna be the first one to see 'em all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shmi appeared in the doorway. “Ani, bedtime!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon finished up his cleaning and gently placed on a bandage. “There we are. Good as new.” I took the bloody bactapad from him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ani, I'm not gonna tell you again.” I could hear Shmi’s fondness under her stern tone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin didn’t move and watched as Qui-gon took back the pad and scraped a sample off to set in his portable medical scanner</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” Anakin peered at the equipment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Checking your blood for infections.” Qi-gon didn’t look up from his work. “Go on. You have a big day tomorrow.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin slid off the ledge we’d been sitting on and went inside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sleep well, Ani.” Qui-gon tossed at the boy’s back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once Anakin was inside, Qui-gon commed Obi-wan on the ship.“Obi-Wan?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Padawan’s reply was prompt. “Yes, Master?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I need an analysis of this blood sample I'm sending you.” The elder Jedi typed some on his scanner</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait a minute.” There was the sound of buttons from the other end. “Okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I need a midi-chlorian count.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few more seconds, then, “The reading is off the chart. Over 20,000. Only Jade has a midi-chlorian count that high, and that’s only because she’s basically a part of the Force. What does that mean?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon glanced at me. “I'm not sure.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>I frowned as Watto spat something in Huttese at Anakin when he passed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the next morning, the day of the race, and Anakin, Padme, Shmi, Kitster, the droids, Jar-Jar, and I were just riding our mounts into the large hanger, the podracer in tow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We were riding animals that resembled camels in that they had two humps and the same general body structure. They were different because their snouts were almost a very short trunk. They did sit down like camels, though, folding their legs underneath them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What'd he mean by that,” Anakin asked Qui-gon as he dismounted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon was already there as he’d gone ahead to finalize things with Watto.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'll tell you later,” Qui-gon waved him off as he started to unhook the pod from our mounts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is so wizard, Ani,” Kitster commented as he helped. “I'm sure you'll do it this time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do what?” Padme turned to the younger boys. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Finish the race, of course.” Kister moved off to help Shmi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You've never won a race?” The handmaiden was slightly shocked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well… not exactly,” Anakin wheedled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not even finished?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin turned away. “Kitster's right. I will this time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course you will.”Qui-gon came up behind the boy and placed his hands on Anakin’s shoulders.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-----------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We listened to the announcer, a two-headed alien calling out the racers, as we helped get the pod onto the track. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“...see Ben Quadinaros from the Tund System… Sebulba…to Clegg Holdfast…” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Our group cheered when Anakin was called. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“....young Anakin Skywalker… a local boy.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Be safe.” Shmi hugged Anakin one last time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will, Mom. I promise.” Anakin hugged her fiercely in return. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Dug from the day before, Sebulba, growled something in Huttese as he passed our pod. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin replied in the same tone. I could tell they’d been rivals for a long time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You all set, Ani?” Qui-gon helped the boy into the cockpit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep.” Anakin strapped in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right.” Qui-gon handed him his helmet. “Remember, concentrate on the moment. Feel, don't think. Use your instincts.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will.” Anakin settled in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon gave him a small smile and whispered, just loud enough for him to hear, “May the Force be with you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All the crews cleared the track.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon and I made our way over to our seats. Padme, Shmi, Jar-Jar, and Kitster were already there. Due to being one of the owners of a pod, Qui-gon had gotten a personal screen, to watch the race up close, instead of in the large, grainy, public screens. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is he nervous?” Shmi worriedly asked Qui-gon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He's fine.” Qui-gon and I settled in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Padme wasn’t very pleased. “You Jedi are far too reckless. The queen is not…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon cut her off. “The Queen trusts my judgment, young handmaiden. You should too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You assume too much,” Padme muttered. I snorted. I knew Qui-gon already knew her true identity. He didn’t really care. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The crowd cheered as the flags of all the competitors were carried onto the field. Anakin’s was being held by Threepio. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After the flags left, Jabba the Hutt, the owner of the track, appeared on his balcony. He said a few words, and all the pods started their engines.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, dissen gonna be messy.” Jar-Jar covered his eyes. “Me no watch'n!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The counter ticked down, and when the light turned green, all the pods took off, except for Anakin’s and another racer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no!” Kister cried.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wait. Little Skywalker has stalled. It looks like Quadinaros is having engine trouble also.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> The announcers had also caught onto the snag. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Ani,” Jar-Jar whispered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And, after a few seconds, Anakin shot off.  The other racer’s pod malfunctioned even more, and the engines came uncoupled and shot off in several directions.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Our group crowded around the viewpad, watching Anakin fly. Despite the initial set back, he was soon in the middle of the pack as they wove through the uneven terrain of the course. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was on the second lap when the next mishap came along. Tuskin Raiders had started shooting at the passing vehicles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Looks like a few Tusken Raiders are camped out on the canyon dune turn.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even without the pad, we could hear the explosion on the course. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>About halfway through the second lap, one of Anakin’s connection lines somehow came unhooked from his chariot. He started spinning, and his energy connectors started to flicker. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Skywalker's spinning out of control!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin kept a cool head, though, and managed to reconnect the line with a magnet tool. He quickly got his pod back on track, and passed up two more competitors, putting him firmly in second place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It looks like Skywalker is moving up in the field.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here he comes!” Padme called, pointing to the blur of Anakin’s pod. They whizzed by us once more, Anakin and Sebulba having a large lead over the other racers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“At the start of the third and final lap, Sebulba's in the lead… followed closely by Skywalker!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shmi gasped as Anakin and Sebulba jockeyed for position. She even hid her eyes when Sebulba forced Anakin off the course for a few seconds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Skywalker's been forced onto the service ramp!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin was a great pilot though, and with a quick mauver, flipped himself back onto the track. He was in front of Sebulba.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Amazing! A quick control thrust, and he's back on course!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His luck didn’t hold out however, as one of his engine modules started to smoke. The whole pod slowed down, and Sebulba regained the lead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Skywalker is in trouble! Sebulba takes the lead!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shmi and Padme clutched at each other as Anakin had to do some fancy piloting to keep from crashing while making adjustments. Eventually, he did manage to get his engine under control, and he accelerated back up to second place.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“He's catching Sebulba!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Careful, Ani. Careful, Ani,” Jar-Jar muttered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin drew up beside Sebulba in the final, long stretch of open sand before the stadium. They bumped chariots and somehow managed to get some wires tangled together, so they were stuck flying right next to each other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That little human being is out of his mind! They're side by side!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were together for about thirty seconds before Anakin’s pod gave a huge yank, which tore loose the wires from Sebulba’s pod, sending it out of control. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sebulba crashed, and Anakin was clear to cross the finish line unimpeded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>----------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shmi raced down to the track through the quickly forming crowd, Qui-gon making a path for her with his large frame. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I followed closely behind, making sure to keep an eye on Padme and Jar-Jar. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When we got to Anakin, Qui-gon had lifted the young boy onto his shoulder, and Kitster and the droids were cheering for him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yippee!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yay!” Anakin was beaming through the grime on his face. “Mom, I did it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yay!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good going, Ani!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Once we had made our way back to the hangar, Padme knelt down and hugged Anakin. “We owe you everything, Ani.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shmi hugged her son as well. “It's so wonderful, Ani. You have brought hope</span>
</p><p>
  <span>to those who have none. I'm so very proud of you.” She gently wiped off some of the sand on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin grinned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon left to seal the deal with Watto, while I escorted the rest of our group back to the Skywalkers’ home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon came back to the Skywalkers’ with the required parts in tow. Padme, Artoo, and Jar-Jar said their goodbyes, then we all went back to the ship.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan came out to greet us, but Qui-gon and I didn’t dismount as the crew unhooked the parts and took them inside the ship. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon leaned down to talk to his apprentice. “Well, we have all the essential parts we need. Jade and I are going back. Some unfinished business. We won't be long.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan shielded his eyes from the twin suns as he looked up at us. “Why do I sense we've picked up another pathetic life-form?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It's the boy who's responsible for getting us these parts.” Qui-gon glanced at the parts. “Get this hyperdrive generator installed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Master. That shouldn't take long.” Obi-wan turned away as Qui-gon and I left for the town.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey. These are yours.” Qui-gon handed a large pouch of money to Anakin, who’d come to greet us at the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He took it eagerly and ran to show his mother. “Yes! Mom, we sold the pod!” He spilled the currency over her small desk. “Look at all the money we have!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shmi gasped a little, then turned to her son. “My goodness! But that's so wonderful, Ani.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And he has been freed.” Qui-gon and I had followed the excited boy inside. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin paused at the Jedi Master’s words. “What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You're no longer a slave,” Qui-gon reiterated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin turned to Shmi. “Did you hear that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She smiled softly at him. “Now you can make your dreams come true, Ani. You are free.” Shmi turned to Qui-gon and me. “Will you take him with you? Is he to become a Jedi?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon nodded. “Yes. Our meeting was not a coincidence. Nothing happens by accident.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin was awestruck. “You mean I get to come with you in your starship?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anakin…” Qui-gon sighed and knelt to be eye-level with him. “Training to become a Jedi is not an easy challenge, and even if you succeed, it's a hard life.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It can be very fulfilling, though,” I added my thoughts to the matter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But I wanna go.” Anakin protested. “It's what I've always dreamed of doing.” He turned back to his mother. “Can I go, Mom?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shmi sighed. I could see the hidden pain in her eyes. She was losing a son, but losing him to a better life. “Anakin, this path has been placed before you. The choice is yours alone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wanna do it,” Anakin told Qui-gon resolutely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then pack your things.” Qui-gon gestured to Anakin’s room. “We haven't much time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin scampered off but paused in the doorway of his room. “What about Mom? Is she free too?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon shook his head. “I tried to free your mother, Ani, but Watto wouldn't have it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin didn’t quite understand and went back over to Shmi. “You're coming with us, aren't you, Mom?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shmi gently took Anakin’s hands. “Son, my place is here. My future is </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It is time for you to let go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don't want things to change.” Anakin’s voice broke a little. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But you can't stop the change…” Shmi smiled gently. “Any more than you can</span>
</p><p>
  <span>stop the suns from setting. I love you. Now hurry.” She nudged him towards his room. He went, if reluctantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shmi then turned to Qui-gon and me. “Thank you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'll watch after him.” Qui-gon was solemn. “You have my word.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And mine as well.” I went over and hugged the kind woman, wishing, as I had many times before, that I could stop the future.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We set out for the ship a little over fifteen minutes after we arrived. Our trio had gotten about halfway down the street when I felt Anakin turn around and run back to his mother.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shmi knelt to meet him, and they exchanged a few words and another hug. Then Shmi gently pushed Anakin back towards us. I saw her hug her middle as she watched her only son walk away, not knowing if she’d ever see him again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I caught her eye and sent her a look. It told her that I would watch out for Anakin, and I knew she understood it. I turned and quickly caught up to Anakin and Qui-gon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--------------------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We were about a hundred yards away from the ship when I felt a dark presence behind us. I had been carrying Anakin on my back, as he couldn’t keep up with Qui-gon’s long strides. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I quickly dropped Anakin to the ground. “Anakin, run! Tell the ship to take off,” I hurriedly told him while pointing towards the ship.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He started running, and I turned fully around. “Qui-gon!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Master turned around just in time to pull his saber and block a blow for our assailant. It was a humanoid figure dressed in a black cloak. The being had a double-bladed red lightsaber. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I drew my own sabers and lept into the battle. Qui-gon and I both knew we had to buy time for Anakin to get to the ship. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We fought for a good few minutes before I sensed the ship flying over us, the ramp extended. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon and I jumped at the same time, landing on the ramp, which closed quickly under us. The being didn’t try to follow us, being left in the sand below.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan and Anakin rushed into the room. “Are you two all right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon nodded, panting. “I think so.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What was it?” Obi-wan knelt by his master.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'm not sure, but it was well-trained in the Jedi arts.” Qui-gon frowned. “My guess is it was after the queen.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are we gonna do about it?” Anakin was also on the floor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We shall be patient.” Qui-gon gestured to Obi-wan. “Anakin Skywalker, meet Obi-Wan Kenobi.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They shook hands. Anakin was again looking awestruck, the fright forgotten. “You're a Jedi too?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pleased to meet you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon, Obi-wan, and I all chuckled at his formal greeting.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“...all right?” I walked up to the door to Padme talking to Anakin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It's very cold,” He replied. It had been why I’d left the room, to get a blanket. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ship was in hyperspace, and well on its way to Coruscant. It was soon after the night cycle had started, but Anakin was still awake.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I stood in the doorway unnoticed, as Padme sat down and used her handmaiden’s cloak to cover the young boy. “You come from a warm planet, Ani. A little too warm for my taste. Space is cold.” </span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Anakin looked at her expression for a moment. “You seem sad.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Padme tilted her head. “The queen is worried. Her people are suffering, dying. She must convince the senate to intervene or… I'm not sure what'll happen.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin drew a hand out from under the cloak. “I made this for you, so you'd remember me.” It was a little cube pendant on a necklace. There were carvings on the surface. “I carved it out of a japor snippet. It'll bring you good fortune.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Padme gently took the offering. “It's beautiful. But I don't need this to remember you by.” She sighed. “Many things will change when we reach the capital, Ani, but my caring for you will remain.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin smiled back at her. “I care for you, too, only I…” He trailed off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Miss your mother,” Padme finished for him. He nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They lapsed into silence, and I fully entered the room, not breaking the quiet. Padme started a little, but I simply placed the blanket I’d gotten over the both of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Coruscant. The entire planet is one big city.” The head pilot narrated for Anakin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the next morning, and Anakin and I were in the cockpit, watching the landing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There's Chancellor Valorum's shuttle.” The pilot pointed to a shuttle car docked on the landing pad. “And look over there. Senator Palpatine is waiting for us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ship landed without incident, and the royal party disembarked to the greetings of Senator Palpatine. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon, Obi-wan, and I all bowed to the Chancellor and Senator. Anakin copied us behind me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Palpatine nodded, then turned his attention to the queen.  “It is a great gift to see you alive, Your Majesty. With the communications breakdown, we've been very concerned. I'm anxious to hear your report on the situation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I noticed the exchange of small smiles between Padme and Anakin during the conversation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Palpatine gestured to the Chancellor. “May I present Supreme Chancellor Valorum.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The stately man inclined his head. “Welcome, Your Highness. It's an honor to finally </span>
</p><p>
  <span>meet you in person.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Queen started to walk towards the shuttle bus. “Thank you, Supreme Chancellor. I must relay to you how distressed everyone is over the current situation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone started to follow the Queen and the political leaders. I kept a half ear on the conversation as I watched Anakin and Jar-Jar.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I've called for a special session of the senate to hear your position.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'm grateful for your concern, Chancellor.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Chancellor stopped walking as we passed his transport, as did Qui-gon, Obi-wan, and I, but the rest of the group continued on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I must speak with the Jedi Council immediately.” Qui-gon addressed the Chancellor. “The situation has become much more complicated.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin had been waking with the Queen’s party but paused when he saw we weren’t following. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Padme turned back. “Ani, come on.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The young Skywalker gave another glance to Qui-gon, who gestured for the boy to go with the Queen’s group.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The party left, and Qui-gon, Obi-wan, and I took another transport towards the Jedi Temple.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He was trained in the Jedi arts. My only conclusion can be that it was a Sith Lord.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I concur with Master Jinn. The being we encountered was a Sith. His aura was too dark to be otherwise.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon and I stood in front of the Jedi Council, giving our report. Obi-wan had already given his and was standing behind us.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Impossible,” Master Mundi stated. “The Sith have been extinct for a millennium.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do not believe the Sith could have returned without us knowing,” Master Windu added.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hard to see, the dark side is,” Master Yoda said as he turned to look at Qui-gon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We will use all our resources to unravel this mystery.” Master Windu told us. “We will discover the identity of your attacker. May the Force be with you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three of us bowed at the clear dismissal, and Obi-wan and I headed for the door.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Master Qui-Gon. More to say have you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We turned around at Master Yoda’s words. Qui-gon had not left the center of the room. Obi-wan did not look particularly pleased with his master’s stubbornness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“With your permission, my master…” Qui-gon started. “I have encountered a vergence in the Force.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A vergence, you say.” Master Yoda looked intrigued.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Located around a person? As we have seen in Knight Watcher?” Master Windu was as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon nodded. “A boy. His cells have the highest concentration of medi-chlorians seen in a life-form since Jade.  It is possible he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>conceived</span>
  </em>
  <span> by the medi-chlorians.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Master Windu steepled his fingers. “You refer to the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force. You believe it's this boy?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don't presume to…” Qui-gon responded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Master Yoda cut him off. “But you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Revealed, your opinion is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon didn’t respond, asking instead, “I request the boy be tested, Master.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Trained as a Jedi you request for him, hmm?” Master Yoda looked shrewdly up at the younger Jedi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Finding him was the will of the Force.” Qui-gon was confident. “I have no doubt of that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I discreetly caught Master Yoda’s eye and nodded, telling him that the Force </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> willed it so. The Grandmaster then gave a look to Master Windu, communicating his thoughts on the matter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Korun master sighed, before saying, “Bring him before us, then.” </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“The boy will not pass the council's test, Master. He's too old.” Obi-wan told Qui-gon as we walked onto a balcony of the Council spire. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was some hours after we’d given our report, and Anakin was in the council chamber being tested by the masters. I gazed at the sky, a multitude of warm colors surrounding the setting sun. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon looked out at the bustling city-planet, still alive even with the lateness of the hour. “Anakin will become a Jedi, I promise you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan shook his head. “Do not defy the council, Master, not again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I shall do what I must, Obi-Wan.” Qui-gon met his apprentice’s eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan held the contact. “If you would just follow the code, you would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>on</span>
  </em>
  <span> the council. They will not go along with you this time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You still have much to learn, my young apprentice.” Qui-gon turned and went back inside the tower.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I placed a hand on Obi-wan’s shoulder to stop him from following. It was a bit of a stretch, as he was taller than me. We could both sense Qui-gon’s determination to train Anakin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Force was the cause of our meeting with Anakin. He will become a Jedi.” I smiled softly up at the future Jedi. “Though, do not mistake your master’s eagerness to train the boy for the dismissal of you. He</span>
  <em>
    <span> is</span>
  </em>
  <span> proud of you. I can sense it.” Gently, I tugged on his padawan braid. It was a form of affection I’d adopted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan returned my smile. “I won’t.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We went back inside in companionable silence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Force </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> strong with him,” Master Mundi was saying.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was very late at night when Qui-gon, Obi-wan, and I were summoned back into the Council Chambers. Anakin had finished his testing, and the Masters were giving their decision. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He is to be trained, then?” Qui-gon’s hands were on Anakin’s shoulders. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Master Windu shook his head. “No, he will not be trained.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No?” Qui-gon placed his arms on his hips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He is too old,” Master Windu explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He is the chosen one,” Qui-gon protested. “You must see it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Clouded, this boy's future is,” Master Yoda replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will train him, then,” The tall Jedi master declared. “I take Anakin as my Padawan learner.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“An apprentice you have, Qui-Gon,” Master Yoda pointed out, gesturing to Obi-wan. “Impossible to take on a second.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The code forbids it,” Master Windu added in a more severe tone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Obi-Wan is ready,” Qui-gon rebutted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan nodded from his position at the side of the room. “I am ready to face the trials.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Our own counsel we will keep,” Master Yoda said, “on who is ready.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He is headstrong and he has much to learn of the living Force,” Qui-gon pressed. “But he is capable. There is little more he can learn from me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Young Skywalker's fate will be decided later.” Master Windu put a hold on the discussion. “Now is not the time for this. The Senate is voting for a new supreme chancellor, and Queen Amidala is returning home, which puts pressure on the Federation and could widen the confrontation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And draw out the queen's attacker.” Master Mundi added. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go with the queen to Naboo and discover the identity of this dark warrior,” Master Windu directed. “This is the clue we need to unravel the mystery of the Sith. May the Force be with you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon, Obi-wan, Anakin, and I all bowed at the dismissal and left the Council Chamber.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>----------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...It's not disrespect, Master. It's the truth.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“From your point of view,” Qui-gon replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan and Qui-gon were in a heated discussion as we walked towards the Nubian Royal ship. Queen Amidala had elected to leave as soon as possible. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin and Jar-Jar were a few yards away, talking with Artoo on some mechanical matter or other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The boy is dangerous,” Obi-wan insisted. “They all sense it. Why can't you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon halted in his path and turned to Obi-wan. “His fate is uncertain. He's not dangerous. The council will decide Anakin's future. That should be enough for you. Now, get on board.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan turned and walked away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I raised a brow at the elder Jedi. “You should be more gentle with him, Qui-gon. He is just voicing his opinion, which he’s allowed to have.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The long-haired Master looked down at me. “He should be more mindful of the Living Force. It tells me the boy must be trained.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And he will,” I agreed. “But Obi-wan is still figuring himself out. It’s reasonable that he is not so enthusiastic that his master is seemingly throwing him aside. You know how hard he had to work to even become an apprentice in the first place.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon didn’t respond. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I sighed. “Just meditate on the matter when you have a chance. Try and see things from his point of view.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Turning away, I cut the conversation off as Anakin came up to us. I’d felt his presence, but didn’t bring attention to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Qui-Gon, sir.” Anakin fidgeted with his hands. “I don't want to be a problem.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon knelt to the boy’s level. “You won't be, Ani. I'm not allowed to train you, so I want you to watch me and be mindful. Always remember: Your focus determines your reality.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He placed his hands on Anakin’s shoulders. “Stay close to me and you'll be safe.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin nodded. “Master..” He paused over the word that had never meant anything good for him. “Sir, I heard Yoda talking about medi-chlorians. I've been wondering, what are medi-chlorians?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon smiled, happy to teach Anakin anything. “Medi-chlorians are a microscopic life-form that resides within all living cells.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They live inside me?” Anakin looked down at his hands as if he could see him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Inside your cells, yes. And we are symbionts with them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Symbionts?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Life-forms living together for mutual advantage,” Qui-go explained patiently. “Without the medi-chlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to us, telling us the will of the Force. When you learn to quiet your mind, you'll hear them speaking to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin frowned. “I don't understand.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“With time and training, Ani, you will.” Qui-gon stood up and started to gently nudge Anakin towards the ship. “You will.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I followed Qui-gon as he bowed in front of the Queen, who had just arrived. “Your Majesty, it is our pleasure to continue to serve and protect you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Queen was surrounded by her usual retinue of handmaidens and guards.”I welcome your help. Senator Palpatine fears that the Federation means to destroy me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I assure you, we will not allow that to happen,” Qui-gon reassured the young Queen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that, the Queen’s party and our motley crew boarded the Nubian ship, and it took off for Naboo. </span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“...As soon as we land, the Federation will arrest you and force you to sign the treaty.” Captain Panaka was trying to reason with Queen Amidala.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We were about three-quarters of the way to Naboo, and the queen had called a meeting. I could tell it was Padme under the makeup, and not one of her doubles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I agree.” Qui-gon concurred. “I'm not sure what you wish to accomplish by this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will take back what's ours.” The queen’s tone was firm, and her face resolute. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Captain shook his head. “There are too few of us, Your Highness. We have no army.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And we can only protect you. We can't fight a war for you.” Qui-gon added.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Queen nodded but turned towards one of the other people in the room. “Jar-Jar Binks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mesa, Your Highness?” The Gungan was surprised but stepped forward.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. I need your help...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Queen went on to outline a plan that showed just why she’d been elected, even at such a young age. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We managed to land in the forest unhindered, though it wouldn’t be long before the Federation scanners picked up on the ship.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan came over to Qui-gon and me, who were keeping watch. “Jar-Jar is on his way to the Gungan city, Master.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you think the Queen's idea will work?” Obi-wan sounded unsure.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon tilted his head. “The Gungans will not be easily swayed. And we cannot use our power to help her.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan shuffled his feet. “I'm sorry for my behavior, Master. It's not my place to disagree with you about the boy. And I am grateful you think I'm ready to take the trials.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You've been a good apprentice, Obi-Wan.” Qui-gon looked down at his Padawan. “And you're a much wiser man than I am. I foresee you will become a great Jedi Knight.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I caught Obi-wan’s eye and raised a brow, telling him, ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>I told you so.’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>He didn’t have time to reply as Jar-Jar returned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three of us moved back over to the main group to hear his report. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Desa nobody dare! The Gungan city’s deserted! Some kinda fight, mesa tinks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you think they have been taken to the camps,” Obi-wan questioned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“More likely they were wiped out.” Captain Panaka suggested.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar shook his head. “Mesa no tink so.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you know where they are, Jar Jar,” Qui-gon pressed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When in trouble, Gungans go to sacred place. Mesa show you. Come on. Mesa show you!” He started to move away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Our group started to follow him. I stuck close to the Queen and her handmaidens as protection. They had all changed into battle robes, more practical than their usual flowing garb. Padme was back in her role of handmaiden, with a double in the Queen’s makeup.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took our group some time to find the Gungan encampment, but soon we were being escorted by Gungan soldiers to their leader.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your Honour, Queen Amidala of the Naboo,” The Captain of the Guard anounced.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jar-Jar spoke first. “Heyo dadee Big Boss Nass, Your Honour.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jar Jar Binks.” Boss Nass wasn’t too happy with the other Gungan. “Who's da uss-en uthers?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Queen stood tall. “I am Queen Amidala of the Naboo. I come before you in peace.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boss Nass wasn’t impressed. “Ah, Naboo biggen. Yousa bringen da Mackineeks. Yousa all bombad.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have searched you out because we wish to form an alliance...” I could tell the Queen was unsure as to what else to say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Padme could tell as well, stepping forward to the surprise of Anakin and most of the Nubian guards. “Your Honour.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whosa dis,” Boss Nass questioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> am Queen Amidala.” Padme declared. She gestured to the girl dressed as the Queen. “This is my decoy, my protection, my loyal bodyguard. I'm sorry for my deception, but it was necessary to protect myself.” She was regal as she spoke. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Although we do not always agree, Your Honour, our two great societies have always lived in peace. The Trade Federation has destroyed all that we have worked so hard to build.” She took a few more steps forward. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If we do not act quickly, all will be lost forever. I ask you to help us. No, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>beg</span>
  </em>
  <span> you to help us. We are your humble servants.” With that, she fell to her a knee and bowed her head. The rest of our party followed her lead, bending the knee to the Gungan leader. “Our fate is in your hands.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Our actions surprised Boss Nass. “Yousa no tinken yousa greater den da Gungans?” He smiled. “Mesa lika dis! Maybe, wesa being friends.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Gungans around us started to cheer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once the Gungans declared friendship, Padme, in her rightful role as Queen, started to plan with the Gungan leader</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They're here!” Anakin came running up to the speeder, which was acting as a command station for the time being.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good.” Padme turned to watch several speeders full of people arrive. “They made it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She raised a brow as Captain Panaka came to give his report. “Captain.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your Highness.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is the situation?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Captain frowned. “Almost everyone's in camps. A few hundred police and guards formed an underground resistance movement. I brought back as many of the leaders as I could.” His frown deepened. “The Federation army's also much larger than we thought, and much stronger. Your Highness, this is a battle I do not think that we can win.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The battle is a diversion,” Padme explained. “The Gungans must draw the droid army away from the cities.” She turned to the speeder. “R2.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The astromech droid projected a map of the city onto the hull of the speeder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can enter the city using the secret passages on the waterfall side.” She pointed to the area of the map. “Once we get to the main entrance, Captain Panaka will create a diversion. Then we can enter the palace and capture the Viceroy. Without the Viceroy, they will be lost and confused.” She turned towards Qui-gon and I. “What do you think, Master Jedi?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon folded his arms inside his robes. “The Viceroy will be well-guarded.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The difficulty is getting into the throne room.” Captain Panaka told us. “Once we're inside, we shouldn't have a problem.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There is a possibility, with this diversion, many Gungans will be killed.” I inclined my head to Boss Nass, who had been listening to the proceedings. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Gungan leader pounded his chest. “Wesa ready to do our-san part.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Padme nodded. “We have a plan which should immobilize the droid army. We will send what pilots we have to knock out the droid control ship orbiting the planet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A well-conceived plan,” Qui-gon commented. “However, there's great risk. The weapons on your fighters may not penetrate the shields.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There's an even bigger danger.” The Captain pointed out. “If the Viceroy escapes, Your Highness, he will return with another droid army.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Padme set her shoulders. “Well, that is why we must not fail to get the Viceroy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Once we get inside, you find a safe place to hide and stay there.” Qui-gon was instructing Anakin as the Queen’s group made our way into the city. We couldn’t leave him behind, as there would be fighting on the plains as the Gungans drew out the droid army. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure,” Anakin replied flippantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Stay there</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Qui-gon repeated more firmly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was no more time for talking, though, as Captain Panaka’s group gave the signal they were ready. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Padme signaled back, and a minute later a speeder came out of an alley and open fire on a droid tank. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All the battle droids in the courtyard turned and returned fire. Our group took the distraction to run and enter the hangar, where we would launch the fighters.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> <span>There were battle droids inside, and blaster bolts started flying. I ignited my dual sabers and started taking out droids. </span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ani, find cover.” I heard Qui-gon direct Anakin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I went over and freed the pilots, who were being guarded by droids. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Quick! Get to your ships!” The pilots followed their Queen’s command, and they all rushed into their fighters. One by one, the ships took off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When we had cleared the place of droids, both the Captain and the Queen’s group converged in the middle of the hangar.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My guess is the Viceroy's in the throne room,” Padme stated. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Captain Panaka nodded. “Red group! Blue group! Everybody, this way!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, wait for me!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I turned to spot Anakin in an empty starfighter cockpit.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon did as well. “Anakin, stay where you are. You'll be safe there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But I…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stay in that cockpit.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin did as he was told, as our group made for the doors connecting to the palace. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-----------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The doors opened to the sight of a humanoid in a black cloak blocking the way. I immediately recognized him as the Sith that attacked Qui-gon and me on Tatooine. The Queen and her guards pulled up short as they too noticed the figure. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon, Obi-wan, and I made our way to the front of the group. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We'll handle this,” Qui-gon told Padme.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She nodded. “We'll take the long way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guards and handmaidens turned around and headed for another door. The figure lowered its hood as we stepped forward. He was a male Zabrak with red skin and the black tattoos of his people. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All four of us took off our cloaks as one, in preparation for the battle. Behind me, I could hear the sounds of blaster fire. A glance back showed the Queen’s group pinned down by destroyer droids. There was nothing I could do to help, so I refocused on the assailant in front of me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Zabrak pulled out his saber as Qui-gon, Obi-wan, and I did the same. When he ignited it, it held a crimson blade on either end, making it a lightstaff. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We ignited our own and fell into fighting stances. There was a small pause before the Zabrak lept forward to engage us. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We quickly spread out, making the Sith block attacks from three sides. Even with our tactics, the Zabrak’s pace of offense was swift. The flow of the battle changed from moment to moment, neither side getting the upper hand for long.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We did manage to force him back some. He used the Force to fling a piece of droid shrapnel into a control panel, opening up the door to the power systems of the Palace. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three of us followed the Sith onto the walkways of the huge, multi-leveled room. He took advantage of the open walkways to Force-jump to different levels, forcing us to follow him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At one point, the Zabrak managed to kick Obi-wan off the ledge we were fighting on. He fell and barely managed to catch himself on a walkway below. But, the Sith’s attack left him open, and Qui-gon also flung the creature off the ledge, onto a different walkway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-gon jumped down to engage the Sith, while I made my way quickly over to Obi-wan and helped him up onto the walkway from where he was hanging over the edge. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The choice cost us, though, as by the time Obi-wan was on his feet, Qui-gon and the Zabrak were some ways down the room. Obi-wan and I jumped to their walkway and started running back towards them, reigniting our sabers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Zabrak had pushed Qui-gon towards a side room, which was protected by layers of ray-shields. Obi-wan and I only made our way past the first set before they reactivated, blocking our way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I looked ahead through the red-tinted shields to see that Qui-gon and the Sith had also been separated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan and I watched as Qui-gon deactivated his saber, and knelt to the ground. Through the Force, I could feel the Jedi Master sink into a light meditative trance, renewing his energy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I also felt a twinge right before the ray-shields deactivated. The Sith and Qui-gon reengaged as Obi-wan and I charged forward, hoping to reach them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We weren’t successful. The last ray-shield before the room reactivated before Obi-wan and I could make it through. We had to watch as Qui-gon was whaled on by the Sith in the small circular room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I could tell Qui-gon was faltering as the Sith’s attacks got closer and closer to hitting their marks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan could sense it too, and the young man paced beside me. We watched as Qui-gon was pushed back around the circular room. </span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>And, as the Sith struck Qui-gon down with a blade through the stomach. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“NOOO!” Obi-wan yelled as he saw his master fall to the ground. The Zabrak grinned at us through the shield. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan scowled in return, reigniting his saber in preparation of the shield deactivating. It did after a few more seconds, and Obi-wan charged the Sith. I was right behind him, and we fought hard. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But, eventually, the Zabrak was again able to knock Obi-wan down, this time into the large reactor shaft. The young man lost his lightsaber in the process, the weapon clattering down the pit. Luckily, Obi-wan managed to grab onto a maintenance light that was protruding from a few feet down inside the tunnel.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I then had to hold back the Sith on my own. It was hard goings, but I managed to keep the creature at bay. It was a stalemate, though, neither of us was getting the upper hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That is until Obi-wan managed to put aside his emotions enough to use the Force and jump out of the pit. He called Qui-gon’s fallen lightsaber to him in the air and landed in front of the Sith, inside his guard.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan struck the killing blow, cutting the Sith in half. The creature had a shocked look on his face as he fell back down into the tunnel, legs separating from torso. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a beat to make sure the threat was gone, Obi-wan raced to his master and fell to his knees beside Qui-gon. He cradled the Jedi Master’s head in his lap. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I knelt beside the pair as Qui-gon opened his eyes. Obi-wan tried to stand up with him, but Qui-gon stopped him. “No, it's too late.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.” Obi-wan had tears in his eyes as he held his master. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Obi-Wan,” Qui-gon forced out. “Promise...Promise me you will train the boy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Master.” Obi-wan’s voice broke.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> the chosen one.” Qui-gon insisted. “He will bring balance. Train him…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I felt as he took his last breath, then went still. Obi-wan curled over the body and cried. I allowed him. He needed time to grieve, before having to replace his Jedi mask of non-emotion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>----------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After about ten minutes, I gently guided Obi-wan to his feet and levitated Qui-gon’s behind us as I escorted him out of the power room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When we emerged, there were no signs of battle, and we made our way unnoticed to the throne room, where Padme was holding a council. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She gasped and covered her mouth when she saw Qui-gon’s body. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He died in battle,” I explained to her. Obi-wan wasn’t up to speaking just yet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She nodded and squared her shoulders. “I’m so sorry. The medical facilities of the palace are at your disposal. We can have him prepared for whatever burial ritual you require.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I inclined my head. “That would be much appreciated, Your Highness, thank you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few minutes later, a medical team came and took away Qui-gon’s body. I led Obi-wan out and to a set of rooms prepared for us. Anakin was already there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The young boy lept up and grinned as the door opened, but it slipped away as he saw our somber faces. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I settled Obi-wan in one of the bedrooms before reemerging and telling Anakin the news. I let him cry on my shoulder as we sat on the couch. I was not looking forward to the comm call I was going to have to make to the Council</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next two days were subdued, as Obi-wan worked through the worst of his grief. On the third, I had to rouse him from his mourning. The Jedi Council and the new Chancellor, former Senator Palpatine, were to arrive to arrest Nute Gunray. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now, Viceroy, you're going to have to go back to the senate and explain all this.” Padme, dressed in her proper state robes, faced the Federation leader and his second as they were led away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think you can kiss your trade franchise goodbye.” Captain Panaka added as he handed the defeated beings over to the Chancellor’s guards.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chancellor Palpatine made his way over to Obi-wan, Anakin, and me.“We are indebted to you for your bravery, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jade Watcher.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We bowed to the man. He turned to our young companion. “And you, young Skywalker. We will watch your career with great interest.” He patted Anakin on the shoulder as he walked past. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-wan and I stepped aside as the Masters of the Council disembarked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was that night that Qui-gon’s funeral was held. He was to be cremated, in the tradition of the Jedi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Queen Amidala, Boss Nass, the Chancellor, the Masters of the Council, Obi-wan, Anakin, Jar-Jar and I were just a few of the people in attendance. Many Nubians wanted to pay respects to one of the Jedi who protected their Queen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I stood next to Anakin. Obi-wan was on the boy’s other side. Me, Obi-wan, and the rest of the Jedi had our hoods up in mourning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin peered at Obi-wan’s half-hidden face. “What will happen to me now,” He whispered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The council has granted me permission to train you,” Obi-wan explained quietly. He’d told me of his promotion to Knight earlier. “You will be a Jedi, I promise.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin nodded, then went back to watching the flames lick at Qui-gon’s body.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>----------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next day was the complete opposite of the previous night. A joyous air replaced the somber mood of the night before. A parade was held in honor of the new peace between the Gungans and the Naboo. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a lot of music, and the people of Naboo had flooded the streets, throwing flower petals in the air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boss Nass and Jar-Jar were at the head of a collum of Gungans. They rode forward on large swamp beasts towards the steps of the palace, where the Queen, the Chancellor, and the Jedi Council stood.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Obi-wan, Anakin, and I were also there, as heroes to the Naboo. Anakin was wearing his new Jedi robes and already had a small Padawan braid in his trimmed hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boss Nass and Jar-Jar ascended the steps and stopped in front of Queen Amidala. The Chancellor handed her the Globe of Peace, an ancient Nubian relic. It glowed with its own light, and the Queen gently handed it over to the Gungan leader. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boss Nass held it over his head and turned towards the people. “Peace!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nubian and Gungans alike cheered. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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